Sometimes I feel like the years pass by so fast that I forget to remember the beauty that each year has provided. Here I am, my last day of being eighteen, and this year truly taught me more than I could ever even imagine. There has been joy and pain and everything in between, and I have Jesus shine His glory through it all. First..Graduation, a moment that I wished for forever, and let me tell you I wish I would have cherished those last months of high school a little more. As you go to college, friends come and friends go, and I have started to learn that it all turns out to be for the best. This eighteenth year, I have watched myself stand strong even though Satan has tried to attack. I have found myself alone and homesick, but I also have found myself surrounded by the most amazing and Godly people. I never could imagine what this year would have been like for me. I thought College was just a dream, and I didn’t think the day would come where I would move away from everything I have ever known. I didn’t think I would ever stop crying when my parents went in the car back to Georgia, and I wasn’t with them. Eighteen brought me unfamiliar things, and put me in an uncomfortable place where I knew no one. Eighteen ended up bringing me a best friend the day after my parents left (shout out to Hannah Sensing). I look back on this year with joy, and I am constantly reminded that Jesus makes all things work together for our good. Jesus has moved in my life so much this year, and I think it is because I allowed him too. I learned that when you surrounded yourself with good people, you have a brand new perspective. Yes, a lot changed this past year, and I don’t think I am the same person I was when I entered into this year.
Here are Eighteen things that I learned at Eighteen:
- Jesus will always be the only constant thing in your life
- It’s okay to miss your mom and dad
- Allow yourself to step out of your comfort zone, there are so many more oppurtunities if you don’t stay where you are
- Strangers can certainly become your very best friends
- You are who you surround yourself with, so choose wisely
- Not every day is good, but it is best to look at the good in every day
- Sometimes you will feel alone, but those are the times where you see Jesus’ peace pour over you
- BE BOLD… sometimes your best friend could be the person on the floor below you or sitting alone at a lunch table
- Mom is always right
- Keep in touch with people from home, and don’t forget that they need your love too. It is very easy to get caught up.
- Don’t live a life of going through the motions. Be spontaneous. Take weekend trips somewhere with your friends. Wake up at 4am to drive to Krispy Kreme…Those will be the memories that stick in your head forever.
- “Wherever you are, be all there”…My dad told me this over thanksgiving. I have always had a heart of wanting to be where I am not. Appreciate where you are, and who is with you at the very moment.
- Be content…I can not stress that enough.
- Live with intention. I have learned that people don’t just want someone to ask them “how are you?”… People desire to be truly cared for by other people.
- Tell those you love that you love them. Oh wow have I learned that this life is WAY too short. None of us are promised tomorrow… and “I love you and I appreciate you” can go a really long way.
- You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. It’s your life, not theirs. Being unique will get you farther in life.
- Put Jesus first. Put your quiet times before your homework. Don’t routine pray, pray at every moment you need too.
- Jesus is not done with you yet. If you are still on this Earth, He is using you.
It’s been real eighteen…HELLO NINETEEN.
With love and sunshine,
Mary-Michal Linch
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